BMO Financial renews St. Lawrence Parks Commission sponsorship deal

BMO Bank of Montreal representatives delivered $25,000 to Upper Canada Village July 11.

This is the first installment of a $75,000 three-year sponsorship renewal with the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

The sponsorship continues the BMO’s support for the operation of the miniature train, The Moccasin, at Upper Canada Village during the regular season and for Alight at Night.

It too will fund the construction of a Tribute Wall at the Fort Henry Discovery Centre in Kingston.

BMO Financial Group has been a sponsor of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission since 2006.

“We are pleased to support such great local attractions as Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry. At BMO, we understand the importance of local community support,” said Katherine Scarlett, Personal Banking Area Manager, BMO Bank of Montreal.

“Both the Village and Fort Henry are wonderful family attractions and we are pleased to be a continued partner of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission,” said Katherine Scarlett, Personal Banking Area Manager, BMO Financial Group.

“Due to the continued support of BMO Financial Group, we are able to continue to deliver quality experiences to our many visitors each year. The Moccasin train experience is a favourite activity for families visiting Upper Canada Village during our main season as well as during the Alight at Night festival. BMO has been key partner of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission since 2006 and we appreciate their continued support,” said Geoff Waycik, Manager, Upper Canada Village, St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

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Iroquois is on the cusp of 1,400 km of new pipeline that will be constructed to carry oil eastward.

TransCanada Pipelines is converting 3,000 km of an existing natural gas pipeline that runs across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Eastern Ontario into an oil pipeline.

That gas pipeline runs through South Dundas.

The proposed conversion ends at the Iroquois pumping station, and from that point on, the new construction starts.

The purpose of the project is to move oil from Alberta to Quebec and New Brunswick, including marine facilities for shipping exports to other markets.

TransCanada’s Energy East project will carry 500,000 to 850,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada.

Enbridge, which has existing oil pipelines that run through South Dundas, is also in the process of a project that will carry 300,000 barrels a day from west to east. Their project is a flow reversal rather than a conversion and is not a new build. Inspection work for the Enbridge flow reversal project is taking place locally later this summer.

Application for approval of this TransCanada conversion and new build project will be filed late this year with the National Energy Board decision and final approval expected in 2015.

Pipelines operate with a 99.99 per cent safety record in Canada, which is significantly lower that railway and truck transportation of oil.

Presently, 75 per cent of oil refined in Eastern Canada is imported from overseas. Projects like these will bring more Canadian oil to consumers.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, some farmers from Oak Valley, a small settlement north of Brinston, were embroiled in an epic battle to continue farming there.

Anna Smail and Norm Tinkler led the charge on behalf of their families homesteads to get the government and its agencies to recognize their plight and do something about the annual flooding which was more than just a nuisance to area farmers.

The extent of the flooding made day to day operations of the farm a struggle and summer floods had devastating effects on crops.

What the farmers needed was to get all levels of government involved to dredge and realign the Nation River and South Branch in Dundas County.

In the end, their efforts paid off, and the project was completed. It took well over 10 years of involvement to get it done.

“You didn’t think about the time you were putting into it, you just did it,” said Smail.

“It was a battle,” said Tinkler. “The biggest reward for our efforts is to see what has happened in our area.”

Through the efforts of these farmers, the Oak Valley, Brinston areas now have thousands of acres of wonderfully productive farmland.

Remembering back to floods, Smail said, “It was bad.”

She remembers having to get in a boat to go to a tractor to get a ride out to dry land so the school bus could pick them up.

Her family had to sandbag the milk house to keep the water out. The cows had to be put on a raised floor and still, they were often standing in water.

During the floods, the milk had to be taken from their farm’s bulk tank, in cans, to another farm on dry land. It would the have to then be emptied into that tank, so the milk truck could take the milk.

March 8, Smail and Tinkler received Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, in recognition of their efforts. The presentation was made at the Dundas Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s annual Seed, Forage and Agriculture Show.

Chris McDonough, Fire Chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services recently requested funding from TransCanada Pipelines, and was excited to see that result in a donation of $30,000 from the company.

These funds will be used for emergency generators at the fire stations.

“This donation will finalize our goal to have generators at the three fire stations,” said McDonough.

“This couldn’t have been accomplished without this donation, for which I am very thankful,” he added.

“I appreciate TransCanada Pipelines working with our community,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “This gives us a step forward in being prepared for an emergency.”

TransCanada has a long-standing history of supporting local communities.

“I’m happy to work for a company that helps out,” said Sean McCann, TransCanada Pipeline technician from the Zeron Road Station.